Suspicious Ebay bidder

Discussion in 'World Coins' started by dangolf1890, Mar 24, 2014.

  1. GreenPVCHaze

    GreenPVCHaze New Member

    "For Canada, isn't there a duty payable by the buyer for parcels over a certain stated value?"

    That, there is. Some bidders will only bid up to a certain amount, less than what the item should realistically go for, knowing that they will have to pay customs fees on the package.

    "For high priced items international shipping may be too risky, but in general if you sell non-U.S. coins, you will get a lot more bids for more money if you ship international."

    Definitely true too. Some world coins have very little interest in terms of a collector base in the U.S. I guess the exceptions would be modern-issue bullion coins, but certainly even with modern commemoratives, you would expand your bidder base tremendously if you are willing to have international customers. Just be careful, and good luck with your auction.
     
  2. Avatar

    Guest User Guest



    to hide this ad.
  3. dangolf1890

    dangolf1890 Junior Member

    Ok, many of you say relist or cancel the bid. The coin is currently going for a good price, so I kinda want to see how this pans out. I mean if the guy pays and all and I ship the coin to a confirmed paypal address, what could go wrong? If the guy signs for it and he says the coin is missing, would I be liable? Also, it weird that the guy was able to bid in the first place since Turkey is not included in list of countries I can ship to (I didn't set it up this way, only chose worldwide, but Turkey is not there).
     
  4. treylxapi47

    treylxapi47 Well-Known Member Dealer

    You gotta hope it makes it to him in the first place, and foreign countries are a risk that i am not willing to take.

    Let me ask you this. What does it matter if its going for a good price if you will have to return the money? I dont really trust strangers that I see from time to time, let alone someone halfway across the world with ebay as my only form of protection (whom side with buyers more than sellers).

    In the end its your coin and your money, do what you want, but the experts (and that does not include me since i dont sell on ebay) have spoken and their consensus is kill the auction. I would listen to them.
     
  5. Hiddendragon

    Hiddendragon World coin collector

    Keep in mind too that most bids come in in the last 10 seconds, so the person who is winning now might very well not end up winning it.
     
  6. Blissskr

    Blissskr Well-Known Member

    If you don't cancel the listing and re-list with restrictions on shipping you are very likely to lose your coin and the funds from the sale. Not all international bidders are going to scam but a new zero feedback foreign bidder that just screams run away especially with a coin of this value imo. The scam could work a number of ways but I bet the most likely would be if this person wins that once you actually ship the coin and they see it moving within the mailing system the buyer Ebay account will be closed and the credit card that is most likely going to be used to pay for the sale will be charged backed/reported as stolen. Then you are going to have a hassle on your hands as to whether or not Ebay decides to take the hit and pay you the money back for the sale or make up some BS reason why your not covered and then your out sale funds and the coin with no recourse.
     
  7. dangolf1890

    dangolf1890 Junior Member

    Alright, will consider canceling the listing. Just emailed the bidder informing him that I only accept paypal and only ship to confirmed paypal addresses. Asked him if he's still interested (I called eBay and they told me the guy didn't have a paypal acct setup). If I don't receive a response in the next day or two, I'll cancel the item and relist it (unless someone else bids on the coin).
     
  8. green18

    green18 Unknown member Sweet on Commemorative Coins Supporter

    HELLO. Red Flag Ya Think?
     
  9. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    eBay works with Pitney Bowes now, they handle int'l shipping & customs duties... maybe that's what happened to your auction
     
  10. dougsmit

    dougsmit Member

  11. KoinJester

    KoinJester Well-Known Member

    USPS tracking ends at the US border. There will be no way to track it once it leaves the states. But hey its your money that you may lose
     
  12. GreenPVCHaze

    GreenPVCHaze New Member

    "USPS tracking ends at the US border. There will be no way to track it once it leaves the states. But hey its your money that you may lose"

    Interestingly, the last few times I shipped an item to Canada (none recently), the scans continued all the way until the packages had been signed for and picked up at the Post Office. I highly doubt this would be the case for Turkey though, although you never know. I definitely expected to lose tracking abilities of the package once it crossed over to Canada at first.
     
  13. Nuglet

    Nuglet Active Member

    I am not an ebay seller, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.
    so, I would cancel the auction, and re-list the item.
     
  14. TIF

    TIF Always learning.

    Last edited: Mar 25, 2014
  15. treylxapi47

    treylxapi47 Well-Known Member Dealer

    There is one other option, it's a little less scrupulous but at least it protects him to a degree.

    Let the auction run it's course and maybe the high bidder will be a US resident. If the Turkey person wins, just email them and kindly let them know the item is no longer available, that you sold it in store (even if you don't have one) and then relist with proper shipping restrictions.

    You'd have to tell a little lie, but if my choice is that or losing $1500+ I'd choose the little white lie to prevent a scam.

    Again , it's your call though.
     
  16. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    That doesn't make any sense. Messages to other eBay members can be viewed by the eBay staff, I guess lying and re-listing would be a bad idea. I would just say Turkey is not a country you're shipping to as shipments cannot be tracked, etc.
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2014
  17. micbraun

    micbraun coindiccted

    PS: next time he's listing the item foreign buyers or those with zero feedback can still bid, right?
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2014
  18. YOC

    YOC Well-Known Member

    I do not agree with your 'advice' to not sell/send to non US period.....its bad advice, theres nowt wrong with selling to the UK and I sell to the US ALL the time. Some buyers in my own country get impatient too.....thats just people.
    If there are problems, maybe you do not have your buyer requirements set right? and, the reasons for cancelling peoples bids do NOT include one which says you have not thought it through before listing your item, which seems to me to be the case. It is against ebay rules and I wouldnt recommend anyone to do it...its also unprofessional.
     
    non_cents and Hiddendragon like this.
  19. treylxapi47

    treylxapi47 Well-Known Member Dealer

    Well make up whatever reason you need, just saying you could go that route.

    I would however suggest letting this play out to see where he lands. At the end of the auction the seller still has the item and can literally come up with millions of reasons why he didn't send the coin out if an international buyer wins it.

    The seller is actually in a great position right now. He has someone who is already interested and may drive a bidding war with another domestic counterpart reaching higher than expected returns and may still end up with a US winner in the end.

    My only advice is if the Turkey buyer wins, make up something to keep from sending the coin. Either way, this Turkey buyer isn't getting the coin, but the seller could shoot himself in the foot by canceling the item, relisting and restricting an interested player that was keeping the sellers price up.

    It's a tough situation for sure, but I would take my chances for the highest return possible at this point and deal with who to send it to and how when we know where the winning bidder resides.
     
  20. treylxapi47

    treylxapi47 Well-Known Member Dealer

    As a buyer, what recourse do I have with eBay if a seller does something similar to me?

    None, other than possible feedback issues and a negative should be a small concern to a $1500+ possible loss.
     
  21. YOC

    YOC Well-Known Member

    This is so wrong to deal on ebay like this......VERY bad advice on this thread, do not follow it if you value your ebay account/reputation. Please be sure to NEVER bid on any of my ebay items.......
     
    Hiddendragon likes this.
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page